


MEMORYTALE

by DaydreamingIsValid



Series: Undertale Stuff [1]
Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Adorable Papyrus (Undertale), Angst, Angst and Feels, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, Big Brother Sans (Undertale), Broken Promises, Chara (Undertale) Protection Squad, Childhood Friends, Childhood Memories, Childhood Trauma, Cinnamon Roll Papyrus (Undertale), Cinnamon Roll Sans (Undertale), Depressed Sans (Undertale), Depression, Emotional Flowey (Undertale), Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Everyone Needs A Hug, F/F, F/M, Family Feels, Family Fluff, Female Chara (Undertale), Female Frisk (Undertale), Flowey (Undertale) Being an Asshole, Fluff and Angst, Frisk (Undertale) Needs a Hug, Gen, Good Chara (Undertale), Good W. D. Gaster, Goopy W. D. Gaster, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Memory Alteration, Memory Loss, Nice Chara (Undertale), One Big Happy Family, Papyrus (Undertale) Knows More Than He Lets On, Papyrus (Undertale) Needs a Hug, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Post-Undertale Pacifist Route, Post-Undertale Pacifist Route - "I want to stay with you.", Pre-Accident W. D. Gaster, Promises, Protective Papyrus (Undertale), Protective Sans (Undertale), SAVED Asriel Dreemurr, Sans (Undertale) Needs a Hug, Sans (Undertale) Remembers Resets, Sans (Undertale)-centric, School Sucks, Scientist W. D. Gaster, Shy Sans (Undertale), Suicide Attempt, Suicide Notes, Tags Are Fun, Worried Papyrus (Undertale), Worried Sans (Undertale), Younger Brother Papyrus (Undertale), boarding school sucks more, god I can finally put this tags, gooooood, i have like five different assignments to hand over, seriously, you can't on your phone
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-21
Updated: 2020-09-20
Packaged: 2021-02-28 07:06:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 7
Words: 11,334
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22829926
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DaydreamingIsValid/pseuds/DaydreamingIsValid
Summary: After thousands of unrelenting resets, Frisk has finally acheived it- the truly perfect ending. Asriel was saved, Chara was here and she even brought back the long lost W.D Gaster back from the void! With the help of everyone, they even got Goatdad and Goatmom to be together again! And to spruce things up, they all live in one big house together. Everything felt like it was to good to be true, just perfect. Everyone should be happy, right?Sans's night terrors has gotten worse over the past few months. The comedic skeleton avoided all of them to settle it by himself but his dear family was sickly worried.And so a memory machine was built, though Frisk had a baaad feeling about the  turns of event.
Relationships: Alphys & Mettaton (Undertale), Alphys/Undyne (Undertale), Asgore Dreemurr & Undyne, Asgore Dreemurr & W. D. Gaster, Asgore Dreemurr/Toriel, Chara & Asgore Dreemurr & Asriel Dreemurr & Toriel, Chara & Asriel Dreemurr & Frisk, Chara & Frisk (Undertale), Chara/Asriel Dreemurr, Flowey & Sans (Undertale), Frisk (Undertale) & Everyone, Fuku Fire & Grillby (Undertale), Grillby & Sans (Undertale), Mettaton & Napstablook (Undertale), Napstablook & Sans (Undertale), Napstablook/Shyren (Undertale), Papyrus & Sans (Undertale), Sans (Undertale) & Everyone, W. D. Gaster & Papyrus & Sans, W. D. Gaster & The Riverperson
Series: Undertale Stuff [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1641256
Comments: 40
Kudos: 245





	1. Concern

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first fanfic here so yeah! Let's have fun ^o^ I had this idea on my mind for weeks now, just so you know.
> 
> Please check out the cover I made for this : https://www.deviantart.com/dreamsaremagical/art/MEMORYTALE-831207287

The passage of time has long been tampered with by those who possessed enough DETERMINATION. One can stop time, bend it and even reset time to the very beginning. It all started with Flowey until Frisk's DETERMINATION overrided his when she fell down and the whole underground was subjected to thousands of repeating RESETs till now.

She had finally found it- the true _perfect_ happy ending.

Words could never express how completely ecstatic she was! (Though she rarely used them in all honesty) But still she had finally managed to save everyone with her own blood, sweat and tears. Asriel was here, Chara and even the lost W.D Gaster. When he came back, everyone's memories of him were restored. Heartfelt reunions enveloped their newly accomplished big ring of freedom with a kind of happiness that gives you a good kind of hurt in your fragile soul. A few months had passed in a mansion-like home sheltering all of them as one big family. Goatmom and Goatdad even got together again with the help of everyone. It was too good to be perfect- no, it was more than that. Frisk had even destroyed the RESET button for good. Everyone _should_ be overwhelmed by happiness, right?

…..

Sans….What did she mess up this time? She had even destroyed the RESET button in front of him!

Sure, he had been unusually happy and active these past few months. To top that of, Frisk was actually surprised that Sans was getting along really well with Asriel and Chara, mainly Chara- considering the things she did to him these thousands of past RESETs (even if it was Frisk's fault to begin with) as if they had been the best of friends before...She did have a slight suspicion that the fact was true if she were to recall one of their last _interactions_ in the Judgement Hall.

Putting that aside, it all started with a horrible nightmare their comedic skeleton had experienced and in the midst of his blood curdling delusions, he attacked his beloved younger brother whom he had shared a room with. And Frisk could've sworn that she saw Sans's attack stat glitched when he summoned a devastating group of 10 gaster blasters. They stopped him in time before he had landed the killing blow. When Sans finally came to his senses however, let's just say he didn't take the news too well. Tears began to swirl in her eyes as she recalled Sans very sad state and it was all her fault.

After the incident, things escalated to the worst as one would say. Sans had been avoiding them, keeping his demons inside and even refusing to tell them his nightmares, even after Papyrus made his puppy dog face and Gaster's consolation.

Tonight, once again Sans had been overcome with another terrible nightmare and luckily, Gaster was just in time to stop him from killing Papyrus for comforting him (again). The whole family sat in a well-constructed circle with Sans cradled in Gaster's arms in the darkness of the living enormous living room, illuminated by the orange glow of Papyrus's eyelights, purple from Gaster's left eye and Chara's abnormally bright crimson eyes whom were all etched with worry. Toriel's green magic brought more light into the dark as she performed a healing spell on the former royal scientist's right temple.

"This play has been going on for far too long, I say", Gaster spoke using his second font that he rarely uses in a horse voice, Aster. "If Sans refuses to cooperate then I suggest we must take a hard solution if that's the case"

Papyrus nodded enthusiastically with tears brimming from his eye sockets. "THOUGH THE GREAT PAPYRUS DOESN'T WANT TO MAKE SANS UNCOMFORTABLE, IT APPEARS THAT DAD IS CORRECT!" Undyne smashed her fist together as she chimed. "Yeah, we're gonna help that numbskull whether he likes it or not!"

Frisk had a bad feeling about this.

"But what are we gonna do? We tried giving him gifts, comfort, homemade ketchup- nothing seems to work", the crown prince said who also had tears stains trailing down his snow cheeks. "Yeah, I even _gave_ him my double chocolate fudge nice cream", Chara added. Frisk noted that if Chara The Chocolate Princess - as Papyrus had said - gave someone a share of her treasure, it means the situation was really awful.

"I-I have a-an idea b-but I-Im not r-really su-sure that Sans w-will like it"

"Alphys, please anything to help Sans", Toriel said as she put a reassuring hand on the scientist's back. "Yes, we'll do anything", The king of monsters said in a firm voice that could almost sound like the famous concept of DETERMINATION to Frisk.

Alphys took a deep breath. A hand in Undyne's, she said. "I-I can build a machine that can project S-Sans's memories with Dr. Gaster's help so we can h-help him th-through his trauma b-but.."

Chara groaned. "There's always a 'but', isn't it?"

"I-It's just..Sans would r-really not like it. What i-if we just made th-the situation worse?"

Everyone fell silent, rethinking their grand scheme, though it would definitely help understand what Sans had been through but at what cost? Sans always had reasons for doing what he does or he's just that type of guy that was very private and hated talking about himself.

"NYEH-HEH-HEH! I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS AM POSITIVELY-OOTLY SURE THAT WE CAN OVERCOME ANY OBSTACLE AS WE ARE A FAMILY. AND BETTER THAN THAT WE ARE SANS FAMILY, THE FAMILY OF THE COOLEST BIG BROTHER IN THE WORLD! WE CAN DO ANYTHING AS LONG AS WE ARE TOGETHER WITH A PLATE OF MY ARTISAN SPAGHETTI!"

The whole bleak atmosphere was instantly lightened up by Papyrus's sunshine of a speech. Everyone hummed and echoed their agreement to the plan to help their beloved comedic yet lazy skeleton.

Frisk, Chara and Asriel glanced at each other. Sure, they were not the same person (or flower) that they used to be but, they are certainly not above consequences. Sans was kind enough not to blackmail them with the knowledge of their sins. Well, if it was for Sans, then they'll have to go through it too. One day or another, their family was bound to find out about all the horrible deeds that they have done to them while they had shown nothing but kindness to them.

Frisk couldn't seem to shake the nagging feeling that they were about to dig into something they shouldn't even know.

As cliche as it is, hopefully she was wrong.


	2. Alarmed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They made Sans upset.
> 
> (Sorry, I'm lazy) :p

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't know about this chapter. My mind feels like a gummy worm because we had an add maths test this morning. :-|
> 
> I hate school. Sometimes I wish I could just go and live with the monster gang :-(
> 
> Oh, thanks for the kudos! (^o^)

The awkwardness was suffocating.

Though the rest of the family seemed to make an effort to try and make idle chat throughout the table as Sans poked his pancake with ketchup syrup though this tense feeling was still lingering in the air. Said skeleton knew that his family had a plan to 'help' him but why even bother? It doesn't matter. He was the one who wanted this ending, _dreamed_ of this somewhat perfect timeline and even then, he couldn't even stay happy in it. Doesn't that shows how broken he is. He even tried to kill his own precious baby brother. He deserves to burn in hell but somehow, his family thinks that he deserves to be happy more than anyone. 

He couldn't understand why.

He briefly wondered if Chara could sense if someone is self-loathing since he felt a burning glare coming from in front of him. He lifted his head and their eyes locked just like the times from the judgement hall. 

"So Sans.." The whole table was suddenly silent, looking at Chara and Sans anxiously. "Alphys made this super cool machine with Dr. Gaster and we were wondering if you would come with us to help test it out-"

"...Sans?" she croaked.

Sans's eyelights disappeared, leaving the dark emptiness in his eye sockets with skeletal hands shaking ever so slightly. _test...no more tests_. He didn't want anymore tests and he had a hunch that this machine was connected to their plan. But if he didn't go then it will be more obvious that his once thought eternal facade was crumbling to dust. They would know and he will be yet another burden for them to carry.

He couldn't be more of a burden than he was already.

His smile grew wider as he forced his hand to stop shaking and his eyelights appeared once more albeit a little shaky. "Sure, why not? It's been a while since i've done some sciency stuff, might as well _ketchup_ to it"

A few groans and laughter echoed in the room but Chara still burnt her crimson eyes into his dilated eyelights with Gaster eyeing him too.

_'great. now two people are noticing your mental breakdown. get a hold of yourself, sans! they don't need you to be more of a burden as it is'_ , he internally scolded himself.

"Then, it's settled! We're going now, numbskull!"

Alphys stared at Undyne, incredulous "W-wait, n-now?!"

"Yeah now!"

With that being said, Alphys was instantly picked up by Undyne, who was as red as a tomato since she was being carried bridal style. The other inhabitants in the room looked at each other, unsure of the sudden change of plan. Papyrus stood with newfound hope, dashing after Undyne with his famous 'NYEH HEH HEH!' as Gaster trailed behind with a reluctant Sans in his embrace, face flushed with a light blue hue. Asgore and Toriel followed suit with their paws interlocked, their lost love returned after so many years. Lastly, the DETERMINATION trio ran to their rather large van with fierce DETERMINATION to help their beloved skeleton. 

The ride to the Dr. Gaster's lab was a blur to Sans, the only thing he could do was stare at the window with the _wonderful_ scenery as Toriel mentioned. Although he had seen this view for thousands of times, was it thousands? He couldn't remember.

Not that it matter anyways.

He recalled Gaster's quite disappointed face when he said that he didn't want to continue his scientist career. What a disappointment he is. He just can't though. No more labs, no more tests, no more experiments, no more accidents. 

_just no more_

A hand suddenly held his his and it was none other than Frisk then, it finally dawned to him that his hands were shaking all his time. Guilt was permanently written on her face and to him, that was wrong since it was all his fault to begin with. He can't even hold himself together for his family.

_he was useless._

Time was a thing that no longer held any relevance to him and he couldn't even care what time was it when they had finally arrived. As he stepped out of the tall van with Papyrus's help, he couldn't help but notice how quickly the sky turned dull as they approached the ridiculously gigantic lab that was centered in the middle of Ebott City. Truth to be told, some part of him still wanted to be there, working, finding new formula. He still helps out at the lab sometimes.

The voices of his family were white noises to him as they walked towards the main lab. The place still never ceases to amaze Sans as his eyelight morphed into little stars if only for a little bit when they entered the large space filled with machines galore of shapes and sizes that Sans knew by heart just like all the constellations in the sky.

What was in the middle of the room though was what made his theoretical stomach churned.

In the middle was the very same machine that sent his father scattered across time and space, the very same machine that brought him back and the very same machine that took the existence of his very dear former lab partners but seats were placed around the machine, forming another circle. There were weird helmets with wires connected to the machine on the seats.

He knew he was a shaking mess. "w-what's that doing here?!", he managed to yell, his eye lights were gone except his left one that was lit up with blue and yellow magic swirling dangerously. 

His family exchanged guilty glances. 

Gaster came over to him slowly as if he was a lethal animal, speaking in wing dings while making hand gestures for the others to understand. **" Sans, please-"**

"no" He felt like crying. They promised.

"get the **hell** away from me"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Check out my deviantart account which is DreamAreMagical cause I made this cover: https://www.deviantart.com/dreamsaremagical/art/MEMORYTALE-831207287
> 
> And this mini comic: https://www.deviantart.com/dreamsaremagical/art/It-s-still-you-830865256
> 
> About this fanfic :3


	3. Discovery

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sans actually screamed and this is the family's reaction: 
> 
> :O

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the late update :'( It's activity week at my boarding school and it is hectic.
> 
> Enjoy! :3 and thanks for reading!
> 
> Thanks for the kudos too ^o^

The familiar feeling of dread made him feel sick _to the bone_. He knew he was shaking like hell since his bones rattled like it was nobody's business and his head churned like the lava in Hotlands. His family had broken their promise but he would not cry.

"you promised that you would wait", he said, eyeing Papyrus with his light blue eyelight and he half-regretted it cause' it made his little brother flinched.

" W-well, I…"

_great, now papyrus feels bad. What a_ _great_ _big brother you are, sans._

  
  


"We would have kept it if you weren't being so damn stubborn!", Undyne yelled, a newly summoned spear in her hand.

Asriel stepped forward with tears in his eyes. " Sans, please...We just want to help you. Don't make this harder than it already is". Frisk nodded as she and Chara followed after him. "Please let me truly SAVE you", she signed, a soft-smile formed on her face while Chara glared at him but with a clear sign of worry.

Sans stilled, a brief flashback of the maniac version of the smile came to his mind. The voices of everyone in the room were overlapping until it became white noises to Sans. His breathing hitched, the whole situation really _rattled_ him down to the bones.

He needed to get the hell outta here.

Everyone's sirens rang in their mind as Sans surrounded himself with blue magic. He was going to teleport! Although, as his magic almost manifested, he was slammed to the cold floor. 

With shaky breaths, Sans looked up to see Gaster with a hand up glowing in purple. The royal scientist had conjured up blue magic on his soul but his face was contorted in a unity of fear and worry.

_sh**._

**"Sans… It has been a rather long time since I have made a checkup on your soul"**

"not your _soul_ c-concern, is it? m'fine"

Why couldn't they just leave him alone?!

His father gave him a look of sympathy. "Forgive me.."

Sans soul was forcefully yanked from his chest, the whole room was spinning. Audible gasps were heard as his soul was being showcased for everyone in the room to see. Like any other monster soul, it was white with a blue hue. The hue according to their primary magic colour yet unlike any other monster soul, it was profusely filled with cracks and part of the surface was even chipped off. The best way to describe it was as if Sans's soul was smashed to pieces and proceeded to be glued by a young child.

Tears came rolling down from Papyrus's eye sockets. "S-sans….how?"

He was right. He was better off dead.

"THAT'S IT!!!", Undyne screamed. "DR.GASTER, BRING HIM IN!"

With a solemn look, Gaster lifted Sans up with his magic as he brought him to the chair. "NO, NO, NO! STOP, PLEASE!"

The room fell into a deathly silence, the only sound to be heard was Sans's screaming, practically begging them to stop. They had never heard him scream before. It was surreal.

Bones came out of the floor, plunging into the ceiling as a few Gaster Blasters were summoned to life.The family quickly summoned their magic as of the other lab assistants who were monsters while Chara brought out a kitchen knife from her satchel as Frisk prepared to dodge the attacks to protect themselves. Alphys cowered behind Undyne.

They never expected for Sans to be _this_ strong. 

As soon as Sans was placed on the seat, his hands and feets were secured by shackles that were designed especially for the comedian to activate when he was seated on it. In case, things like these happened.

Like an animal chained, Sans struggled like a mad man (or skeleton :l) as his magic went out of control with endless tears trailing down his cheeks. "YA PROMISED YOU'D NEVER EXPERIMENT ON ME LIKE _HE_ DID!", he cried. Gaster bit back a sob, he must stay strong for his eldest.

He clenched Sans's soul, asserting a bit more pressure in hopes to knock Sans off conscious.

A well-known sound pierced through the symphony of noises, creating an ominous silence in the lab.

The sound of a soul cracking.

Sans slumped against the metal seat. And for once, his once everlasting smile turned upside-down into a frown. 

.....

Undyne's spear vanished into thin air, leaving trails of magic as she scanned her surroundings. The lab was an utter mess, countless papers, blueprints and graphs were scattered on the floor. Some were burnt, disintegrated, ripped apart and so the list goes on. Machines were broken, wires scarred and she could hear Alphys panicking again. She would help but her eyes couldn't tear themselves away from the unconscious nerdy punk she knew too well.

Her eyes widen in surprise she saw tears flowing from the famous Dr. Gaster as he caressed Sans head with a love so strong she could even feel it radiating from here.

_'Never knew he was such a big softie',_ she thought with wonder since the scientist had always seemed cold to her.

Her ears caught the sound of someone crying and instantly she knew that it was none other than The Great Papyrus himself with Toriel, the little punks comforting him.

"I-I SHOULD HAVE KNOWN! H-HIS SOUL...HIS S-SOUL… I DON'T WANT TO LOSE HIM!"

The returned queen wrapped her arms around him in a loving embrace as tears began to flow, dripping to the floor as the little punks joined in, though Chara a bit reluctantly while whispering reassuring words.

The true hero ripped her eyes out of the grim sight, feelings stuff wasn't in her list of expertise. Instead, her attention fell on her cute girlfriend and her beloved king who was helping Dr. Gaster adjust the wired helmet on the admittedly powerful lazybone's head.

"Gaster, I'm very sorry over what happened to Sans", her king said, placing a comforting paw on his shoulder.

**"There's no need to apologize, your majesty. He is fine, for now at the very least"** , he signed, summoning his magical hands.

"T-the m-machine should b-be all s-set and ready b-by now.."

She felt the familiar surge of adrenaline rushing into her veins. "Well? What're we waiting for?!"

Soon, the whole gang was seated and helmets secured on their heads.

"Is everyone ready?!", a human scientist shouted. "Three,"

_That lazy punk will be fine._

"Two!"

_What the hell is up with his soul anyways?!_

"One!" 

_She hoped her hard-headed self could help._

The machine flared to life, emitting a constant buzzing sound as the warrior and her family's world turned black.

.....

Frisk's soul glowed a bright red as the machine started.

Because…

*Knowing she is going to help Sans fills her with DETERMINATION*

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sooo, if you have the time, go check out my devianart account since I did some stuff about undertale and this fanfic!
> 
> Just search DreamsAreMagical (^_-)


	4. Void

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The void is the best movie place.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My school is on lockdown for corona virus and I get more holidays! :P

Dark, darker yet darker. The darkness kept growing, everlasting and photons reading were negative as he felt himself lost, floating in the abyss of eternal blackness. 

He had been here before in a distant memory, if only for just a measly second he had been here. Voices filled the emptiness he felt. 

He knew these voices. 

They were voices that were very fond to him but confusion struck since he felt a foreboding sense of betrayal and anger as he listened to the voices that he thought would never think gave birth to such negative feelings like these. It kept pleading for him to wake up and for another strange reason, he didn't want to since he was suddenly overcome with an unusual sense of fear.

What was he so afraid of?

His senses came slowly but surely he realised that he was being cradled by someone whom he knew meant the world to him as hands with a weird hole in the middle affectionately pet his head in a comforting motion. If senses served him well, his right hand was firmly held by someone who meant more to him than anyone else in the whole universal timelines with love radiating from the owner's own hand.

"BROTHER...please"

_ papyrus? _

…….

They promised….didn't they?

Anxiety forced his eyes to open as his body jerked forward so that he was in a sitting position...sitting on his dad's lap.

_ wow, now that's a embar-rest-ing _

His family surrounded him, each with their own facial expression but one's thing for sure was there's always worry and concern etched in them, no matter how  _ bone-chilling _ some of their glare was.

A feeling that he didn't deserve.

And he finally noticed that they were floating mid-air or maybe not since everywhere they looked was darkness. The darkness stretched far across the plain, a never-ending darkness except for the inconspicuously large movie-like screen just placed in front of them in the darkness. 

His eyelights disappeared once more for the nth time today as he pushed himself off his father despite all the protests he had received. A wave of dizziness that fell on him was quickly replaced with the same sense of betrayal and anger that he had felt earlier. And just like the void they were currently in, Sans's eye sockets sent a chilling shiver down everyone's spinal cord except Gaster, though admittedly he was still quite disturbed by it.

His empty left eye socket was replaced by an eye light flickering with the light blue magic of patience with a semblance of yellow justice.

“get us the f**K outta here, right now”, he demanded as a few gaster blasters appeared behind him, growling with anger.

Chara stepped her place in front of the family with a knife, glowing red in her hand as well as her eyes. “And if we don’t?”

Her question was answered by the gruesome roar of the blaster.

She scoffed. “Not that we can anyway. We’re stuck here until the machine shows us everything that is needed to help your sorry a** “

“LANGUAGE!”

And as two piercing glares were directed to him, The Great Papyrus thought it was best if he hid behind his father. 

“S-sa-sans please! We j-just want t-to h-help!”

_ it didn’t work the last thousands of times, now did it? _

“YEAH PUNK!  _ Some _ of us are tryna’ avoid a fight here!”

_ liar _

“I really don’t wanna fight...We just don’t want you to keep hurting Sans….”

_ then, why didn’t you stop when you were a flower? _

“Yes, my friend. There’s no need to  _ yolk _ alone and do mind your language though”

_ you never change...do you? _

“Dealing with your thoughts alone can bring horrible destruction to your mind, Sans. Trust me when I say I have experienced such things. It now time for me to return the favour for all these years ago”

_ heh..you would never truly understand... _

“OUR FAMILY'S WORDS OF WISDOM ARE VERY TRUE, SANS! PLEASE, I-I’M SURE THAT THE GREAT PAPYRUS AND HIS EQUALLY GREAT FAMILY CAN HELP YOU GET OUT OF THIS DARK PATH! I-If you would just let us..”

_ why can’t you see? I can’t be saved... _

“ **MY DEAR SANS-SHINE, PLEASE...YOU HAVE SUFFERED LONG ENOUGH** ”

He felt his magic disappear as a wave of sadness came crashing down on him.

_ why are they trying so hard? I don’t understand- _

_ ………………… _

_ “He’s not the Sans that I remembered", Chara said, pouting beside Frisk. _

__ The screen suddenly showed Chara and Frisk sitting together on one of the cliffside parts of snowdin, enjoying the magical snowy whiteness of snowdin as beautifully crafted perfect snowflakes fell around them. Everybody fell silent as the screen resumed its played memory.

_ "What do you mean?", Frisk signed with curiosity written on her face. _

_ The crimson-eyes girl floated in front of Frisk, an unimpressed look in her face. "Come on, partner! It's obvious he's not happy. Just look at his smile- one look and even an idiot could see that is a fake strained smile!" _

_ Frisk tilted her head to the side as Chara rolled her eyes off in clear annoyance. _

_ "Sides, one of the reasons you keep resetting is because you want to find a way to make him happy, right?" _

_ Frisk nodded solemnly, guilt weighing heavily in her heart because Chara had phrased those words with biting poison. _

_ ….. _

__ Oh…

"WHAT'S A RESET?", Papyrus asked, causing all eyes to turn to him and the little kids.

This is  _ exactly  _ why he didn't want these kinds of things to happen. He glanced to his left side to see Frisk fidgeting nervously with her golden heart locket.

Gaster put a hand on the younger skeleton's shoulder as he gave a reassuring smile to his elder son. " **Perhaps it is best that we push that aside for now** "

The four of them signed internally with relief.

…..

_ "If you really want to know..", the ghost Chara on the screen continued. "Then I'll tell you" _

_ She started with a bitter but fond smile. "The Sans in my memory never had that big of a smile, sure he did sometimes but it was rare of him to smile like that. He was never one to smile, always sad but when he truly did…"  _

_ The screen showed a little version of Sans who looked about the age of 7 with his back facing them as Chara explained, his hoodie- which is the same one he wore now- draped on the floor because it was far too big for him. He suddenly turned to the screen with a small frown on his face. _

_ "It was the most genuine smile I had ever seen even if it was small.." _

_ As if on cue, little Sans gave a small shy but just like what Chara said, it was pure and radiated magic in a form of genuine feeling of happiness. _

_ ".....Did you know him during the time you fell down..?" _

_ Chara crossed her arms on her chest, tears only slightly visible beginning to fill her eyes. "It doesn't matter…. They've all forgotten, anyway." _

_ The screen went black. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You know, Sans. All of this would never happen if you just talked but I guess he stopped trying. Can't blame him though.


	5. Birth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everybody was born with a purpose.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gaster's Followers:  
> Harshil: The small round-looking monster with big eyes  
> Nightmore: Cat-like monster  
> Flo: The weird monster with the big head
> 
> Other people:  
> Hetra: Alphys mom  
> Silas: A black wolf that lost his family during the war but his kind his still around and is here because of plot.
> 
> Goner kid will be here later on.
> 
> Good? You shall pass.

Sans was extremely relieved that his family barely paid that much attention to what Chara had said in the flashback but…

"O-OMG, SANS!! YOU WERE SO CUTE WHEN YOU WERE JUST A LITTLE BABYBONES AND THAT SMILE S-SO PRECIOUS!!!", Alphys squealed as Sans buried himself more into his hoodie with his face flushed with blue covered. 

The fact that everyone is currently screaming at his non-existent ears about how cute he was and still is apparently as Paps had said with delight. Man...he could even see those little animated hearts floating above them. And he was honestly surprised that even Chara and Undyne joined. It especially didn't help at all the fact that his own father was the one who was gushing about him the most..even going so far as to show pictures that he brought in his wallet like those cliche dads.

That wallet was going to burn in hell after he got out of here.

"alright, alright. Ya had your fun. Can we please just continue with this hellish movie so that all of us can get the heck outta here?"

" **Sans, my boy. There is no need to radiate such negative aura. Is it wrong for an old man to gush about his beloved son to his others whom he thought of as family?** " Even Gaster's signing became faster, practically shaking with glee.

"Yeah punk! Who knew you were such a cute softie?!"

"I'm afraid both Gaster and Undyne are right, my friend but we must respect how you feel about this since I'd almost mistaken you as a blueberry", Toriel giggled. "Now, onward with the show!"

"How about we all stay quiet as the movie progresses? I'm sure everything will fall into place", Asgore said in his king voice.

Everybody echoed their agreement much to Sans’s relief as the odd screen once again flickered to life.

…..

_ “ _ **_....Excuse me?_ ** _ ”. The Royal Scientist gaped at his king, the tea in his hand forgotten. Surely, he must have heard wrong. _

_ The king of monsters took a deep breath, relishing the scent of buttercup covering the ground of the throne room. “I know it is asking a lot of you, my dear friend but...I must ask for your help to make me a soldier to protect this monsterkind. If you recall our solemn war with the humans, we were doing quite well, trying our best to defend ourselves until…” _

_ His eyes rest on the two long cracks that lined Gaster’s skull, far too late for any healing magic to fix.  _

_ “ _ **_Until the King of Humans came to the battlefield with a dreadfully high LV of 20 and a rare powerful soul of DETERMINATION that turned the tables completely for us monsters. Your point is?_ ** _ ” _

_ “Y-Yes, well..In case a human with high LV falls down, I need to be sure that my people are well protected. A monster stronger than any boss monster that is still alive, stronger than Tori, stronger than me, myself. A monster who possesses something we monsters lack...A monster with DETERMINATION and that monster may be the very vessel for our freedom. Someone who can carry the soul of humans” _

_ “ _ **_And you require that monster to be a skeleton?_ ** _ ” The very idea made his soul ache. _

_ “I could never imagine the loneliness that fell before you when your kind was erased by humanity but you must know, a long line of boss monsters came from skeletons as you are one yourself, Gaster. Skeletons are one of the only monsters to have such a powerful soul as the soul is the only organ a skeleton needs” _

_ He took a sip of golden flower tea, feeling the warmth radiating through this skeletal body. “ _ **_And why must I ask that the monster must be a non-sentient being?_ ** _ ” _

_ “Though I believe in the kindness of monsterkind, some are still grieving the loss of their family members, taken from them by humans who hold the DETERMINATION and power. The monster will not be accepted well in our community. The only reason for its existence is to serve monsterkind, acting as the vessel for us to break the barrier, to make the wishes of everyone come true. Besides, a judge must never take sides. You can finally pass on the power that your older brother gave to you during his last moments- Karmic Retribution. A power special only to skeletons” _

_ “ _ **_.....Does Toriel know of this ‘plan’ of yours?_ ** _ ” _

_ Asgore nodded. “She was the one who suggested such a plan, Gaster. She is afraid… Her mother was killed right in front of her eyes by the same human who cause such an injury to your skull, you were very lucky to still be alive that day” _

_ “ _ **_I know_ ** _ ” _

_ “Forgive me and my wife for being selfish but I must ask you to make us this said monster...for the sake of monsterkind”  _

_ The Royal Scientist set his tea, standing up while heading towards the entrance with his face in pensive, eyelight completely gone. The sound of his footsteps echoed through the empty room, cutting through the tense silence. “ _ **_I will try my best_ ** ”

_ “Thank you, Dr. Gaster. Your efforts will be rewarded” _

_ With that being said, he shut the enormous door close, leaving the king alone. _

_ ….. _

_ He stood in front of the towering tube filled with a special liquid, watching intently at the artificial monster soul mixing in with the liquid soul substance of PATIENCE, JUSTICE and DETERMINATION that the king gave to him, probably leftovers from the war. _

_ The feelings that he was experiencing...Was it right of him to allow himself such insignificant feelings? As much as he want to ignore it, these echoes from his soul came crawling back on his mind like an endless torture. _

_ Though it was faint, he couldn’t keep lying to himself. He wished that this monster could his family. _

_ But that was impossible. _

_ ….. _

_ One night, he awakened with a scream, tears trailing down from his eyes to his chin. And no one was there besides himself in the lab, all his colleagues had already gone home to their families. He didn’t have a family. He had lost that to the cruel humans up above. The nightmare he had reminded him of the early days of war where each and every skeleton was hunted down by humans, feared for being one of the strongest monsters to live. A kind which had served the royal family for generations, one that always stood by the king’s side. He brought his shaky hands closer to his face though his left hand had a hole in the middle, the same hands that held the dust from his dear mother, father, siblings, aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews and countless other relatives. A horrible memory of his father, Semi, King Asgore’s consultant dusting in his own hands and his older brother transferring his Karmic Retribution to him as his body slowly turned to dust. _

_ He yearned for his mother’s embrace, for any comforting gesture at all. The bone-chilling loneliness was gripping his soul that already had a large crack in the middle, going in all directions.  _

_ Why was he still alive? _

_ And he suddenly felt a calming wave of magic radiating from the tube that held the monster soul that was glowing in the darkness with such an intense magic. Gaster got up from his mattress and walked towards the tube in a daze. He gently placed his hands on the surface of the tube and the crippling loneliness he had felt disappeared but was replaced with a sad longing.  _

_ He fell to his knees, his head resting on the cold surface of the tube, hand still firmly clinging on the tube. “ _ **_I wish for a family to soothe these aching cracks in this soul of mine. Would it be wrong for you to grant my selfish wish, instead of the same wish for everyone else to return to the surface?_ ** _ ’, he asked the soul. “ _ **_I don’t wish to return to the surface again. It’s much more safer down here_ ** _ ” _

_ The soul’s glow became much brighter, illuminating the entire room with a blinding white light.  _

_ ….. _

_ A year had passed since Crown Prince Asriel’s birth that brought forth a newfound hope to the inhabitants of the underground. He was never one for emotions but he could admit the feeling like his soul was much, much lighter than usual.  _

_ He cast a fond look towards the sleeping little figure of a skeleton with a rather round face, floating in the tube as his soul continued to glow in a constant manner, showing how powerful his magic was. _

_ Especially since the birth of his precious son is only a few months away. _

_ ….. _

_ He hasn't told anyone yet about his creation because he was afraid that they would take him away from him since this is not what they had expected. _

_ Dr. Gaster was grateful that Asgore didn't question him about the said monster, understanding how painful it was for him to work on something that reminded him so much of the family he had lost. _

_ Everyone was worried about him, he knew he had been isolating himself more since this project began but it was almost time. Only three months until it's birth. _

_ Though maybe he should tell them...because he knew nothing about babies. Sure, he bought a book titled 'How To Take Care Of A Monster Baby For Newbies' from the Librarby but that surely didn't help much. He didn't even have a crib since he was so scared that it would raise the suspicion of other monsters. Not to mention that he already had a lot of life crisis mental breakdown over the past few months, thinking if he was worthy enough to be a father and would he be a great enough father for that little skeleton… _

_ The very thought rattled his bones and he chuckled to himself for the genius use of a pun. Toriel would be proud. _

_ All of a sudden, red alarms lit the room as sirens blared in panic, that was only for when emergencies with the core occured!  _

_ He kissed the surface of the tube. " _ **_Daddy will be back, don't worry!_ ** _ " _

_ Gaster dashed towards the main lab with panic searing his very soul, accidentally grabbing his blue hoodie instead of a lab coat. If the core was in trouble, the tube won't receive the energy to sustain his son! _

_ He slammed the door open, seeing a frantic yellow lizard in a lab coat tapping in something into the large computer that controls the core. “HETRA!” _

_ My, he hasn’t used his other font in years.  _

_ She turned to him in surprise, before directing her attention back at the large computer screen. “Dr. Gaster, I’ve sent Harshil, Nightmore and Silas to the core! There’s been a malfunction in the energy converter of the core!” _

_ He internally facepalmed when he realized that he had grabbed the wrong attire but put on the hoodie anyways. “ _ **_And Flo?_ ** _ ” _

_ “Taking care of the experiment that I was helping her with…” she trailed off, looking rather dumbfounded at her boss. “ _ **_Don’t ask.._ ** _ ” Gaster groaned.  _

_ A cat-like monster came to the computer screen. “Nightmore, what’s going on?!” Hetra asked. _

_ “Well-” _

_ “Dr. Gaster! I missed you!!!” a small monster shouted, covering the screen with his face, big round eyes sparkled with adoration. "Hey, isn't that the blue hoodie you were so fond of?! It's been ages since I last saw you wear it! The only thing we need now is that super cool red scarf!" _

_ " _ **_Not the time, Harshil. Nightmore, explain!_ ** _ " _

_ Harshil was pushed away, sent off to help Silas with the core. Nightmore cleared his throat. "It seems the energy converter of the core is overheating and there may be a few cracks here and there..anything that is currently using the core's power may erupt or break" _

_ Dread filled his very being. Erupt...break..? _

_ "No need to worry, we've asked every monster to shut down all power and the lab is currently shifting power from the core to our emergency energy source but a few things will break" _

_ A few lightbulbs broke above them. _

_ His son! He couldn't lose another family. _

__

_ Gaster ran in a mad dash back towards his lab, ignoring the desperate calls of his name, stumbling a few times until he reached the tube that held his precious little skeleton. The surface had a few cracks with water dripping out of it, the soul monitor on the tube's base showed very weak lines which meant that his son was dying! The soul of the little skeleton glowed brighter but the feeling he felt being emitted was fear. But it was still three months until it's ready to be brought into the world. _

_ What should he do..? _

_ The lights above him began to flicker as other power-consuming equipment began to shut down.  _

_ No choice then. He only had a few minutes left to spare. _

_ With shaking hands, he typed in a few codings of the keyboard part located at the black base of the tube, eyes locked as the water in the tube began to deplete, blue gravity magic keeping his son floating mid-air. Removing the lid, he brought his very fragile son into his arms, wrapping him with his beloved blue hoodie, gently cradling him with so much love as though the little one as though he would turn to dust in mere seconds.  _

_ Though it was dark, he could see with the glow of his left eye lights and bright soul of his son. The little one in his arms was so cute, so small, so fragile yet still so strong. Tears of happiness flowed from his eye sockets, trailing down to his chin, dripping onto his newly born son. In contact with the tears, the little skeleton barely managed to open his eyes, blurry eye lights looked at Gaster with curiosity even if those eye lights looked very tired. The child cried weakly as a small crack form on his soul. _

_ " _ **_No, no, no, don't cry...Daddy is here, Daddy will make the pain go away_ ** _ ", Gaster said in a sweet manner, casting healing magic on his son's soul but to no avail. The crack only grew, making the baby cry louder. _

_ " _ **_NO, NO, NO!_ ** _ ". Please, he couldn't lose another family! _

_ His healing magic began to grow stronger with power but it was still not enough since healing was never his strong suit. The Great Dr. WD Gaster couldn't give up this easily! _

_ "Gaster!" _

_ He turned to see Queen Toriel in the doorway with King Asgore and his lab partners, Hetra and Flo. The Royal scientist choked a sob as the sound of a soul cracking echoed in the room, the helpless cries of his son only grew louder. Little bone began to emerge from the floor. _

__

_ "TORI, PLEASE HELP! H-HE'S DYING! I CAN'T LOSE ANOTHER FAMILY!!", he screamed with grief embedded into every word he said. _

_ The queen hurried to his side, tears forming on her eyes, kneeling beside him as she held the fragile soul in her hands. Her overly-protective motherly side took over, a blast of powerful green healing magic illuminated the room until it finally subsided, the soul mostly healed except the tiny crack at the very middle. "This child is very lucky to not have dusted. Usually a newborn monster would have died by the very first crack of the soul, no matter how small it is". _

_ "But that is not a normal monster infant. Is it Dr. Gaster?", Asgore asked, walking towards them. _

_ He was shaking so hard that his bones clanked against each other. He wanted to thank Toriel for saving his son, who already passed out from exhaustion but he could only muster a weak response. "P-Please….don't take h-him a-away…" _

_ Asgore placed a comforting paw on Gaster's shoulder while giving the scientist a warm smile. "Rest assured, my dear friend. We have no intention of separating you and your son. Toriel and I also have a child whom we'll do anything to keep him safe in our arms"  _

_ "We were just curious on how this child came to be. To be so small, it must have been born premature", Toriel said, gently wiping the tears on his face, seeing him now reminded her of the young and dorky, arrogant little boy that she watched grow into the man he was today. "And I think  _ _ all _ _ of us deserves to know", she continued, gesturing at the doorway filled with Gaster's colleagues as well as the ones from the core. _

_ Gaster managed a small smile, relieved that his son was safe and would not be taken away. He nuzzled the little bundled up skeleton in his arms. " _ **_Of course, your majesties_ ** _ " _

_ ….. _

_ “You  _ _ chose _ _ your own feelings over all the wishes of the underground?!”, Silas snarled in disgust. “Have you gone mad, Gaster?! This monster was meant to serve the underground!” _

_ “Silas, dude, you don’t have to be so mean!”, Harshil glared. _

_ Flo gave Gaster a warm hug. “Don’t listen to him, honey. You did nothing wrong” _

_ Gaster locked his gaze on the floor, unable to face his friends. Silas wasn’t completely wrong, after all, it was true that he chose his own feelings over the hopes of every single monster. _

_ “Forgive me for giving you such a horrible task, my friend. Seeing this child reminded me of my Asriel. Every being deserves to live, deserves to have feelings. It was wrong of me to ask such a request”, Asgore said. _

_ Toriel took Asgore's hand in her own. “It must have been very lonely. Forgive me for suggesting such an idea”, Toriel agreed while giving Silas a menacing glare, silencing him from his growl. “May I ask what is the name of this child, Gaster?”, she added. _

_ “Sans”, he smiled. _

_ Hetra jumped in excitement. “Awwww, so cute! Don’t worry, Dr. Gaster cause’ we’ll help you with the baby stuff, right guys?” _

_ “But of course, we are your friends after all”, Nightmore happily said as everyone nodded in agreement but Silas only scoffed, leaving the room after slamming the door shut. _

_ Harshil groaned. “Ignore him, some people just can’t stand the cuteness little Sansy is radiating” _

_ “ _ **_Thank you, everyone_ ** _ ” _

_ ….. _

__ Undyne sighed in utmost relief as Alphys finally released the breath that she has been holding throughout the whole scene. “Man, glad you came to this world all safe and sound, Sans! Who am I gonna yell at for slacking off if you’re not here?!” Undyne laughed while Sans eyed her with confusion, eyelights completely vanished.

“Y-yes, if-if you’re not here t-then who’s gonna binge watch Mew Mew Kissy Cutie: Space Edition w-with me and help me with m-my projects”

“And whoever will be my puntastic pun partner if not you?”

One by one, everyone started listing all the fun activities that they only do with Sans and how horrible it will be if he hadn’t made it. Frisk signed that she would not have any other punnier dunkle than Sans and everyone laughed while Sans was still staring at them, completely flabbergastered.

“BROTHER..?”, Papyrus called out, making everyone turn to him.

“i…”

Why were they acting like this?

“......i don’t understand…”

“Is there something wrong?”, Asriel asked.

“don’t cha think that all of this is weird? Tori, Asgore, you were there! Aren’t ya a bit weirded out that you can’t remember anything?!”

“Sans, that is the very reason why we are all here in the first place- to understand”, Toriel stated calmly.

“...don’t any of you get it? monsters are born with the love of two monsters ....”

He took a deep, shaky breath.

“...i’m not a real monster..”

Undyne’s laughter echoed through the empty void. “So?”

What..?

“WHAT UNDYNE IS TRYING TO SAY IT THAT IT DOESN’T MATTER, BROTHER! WE LOVE YOU EVEN MORE BECAUSE THAT MEANS THAT THE GREAT PAPYRUS’S BROTHER IS SPECIAL. BESIDES, IF YOU ARE NOT A REAL MONSTER THEN THE GREAT PAPYRUS IS TOO!”

“That’s what I’ve been telling you for  _ all _ this time!”, Chara exclaimed playfully.

“This is also an opportunity for us to get to know you better, Sans”, Asgore chimed in. “Yeah, you were always so secretive, it’s annoying!”, Undyne agreed.

Gaster grabbed him and they were all wrapped in a big, loving hug. Huddled together like this..maybe, just maybe..It made all this memory machine thingy all the more bearable. If his  _ family _ was alright with him being different then he will be a little bit alright if they saw his other memories. He solemnly hoped that the genocide timelines will be ignored by the machine. 

“ **Just remember, I loved you since the day you came to this world, Sans** ”, Gaster whispered to Sans as if those words were specially just for him and nobody else.

Maybe it will all be ok.


	6. Truth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The truth hurts...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry it's short but writer's block hit me like a large truck carrying loads of brick. Wanted to make it longer but the cliffhanger just got me :P AND THANKS FOR THE KUDOS!! \>O

_Though born weak and premature, the little skeleton had many, many other abilities. At the young age of one and a half, Sans said his first words- ‘Dada’ and a few weeks after that, he started little sentences. He took his first steps when he reached the age of two with the help of ketchup then he continued to run a few seconds later. By the age of three, he poured his attention to all the colourful children books, taking in every bit of words he could find. Gaster switched him to more thick and bulky academic books when he reached his fourth birthday. And he was quite the natural prankster too though most of them are unintentional. Most notably however was his immensely powerful magic that he forced himself to learn how to control them since he knew how truly dangerous his powers were. Emotions were very dangerous if you do not control them, he knew too well. After all…_

_He had gravely hurt his own dad once._

_A big square room next to his dad’s personal lab was once used to stash old and broken-down equipment or inventions was modified into his very own special room. The boring grey walls of the room was changed into a beautiful space paradise with the solar system surrounding the room as millions of twinkling stars lit up when the room was dark accompanied them, by the power of adding wallpaper and science. Some constellations were hiding in those clusters of stars but little Sans found all of them with Dadster’s help. A soft blue carpet covered the once mundane floor- a gift from Toriel herself. A queen-sized bed took the right-corner of the room across the door, where he would sleep with his dad after a few pages hundred of some science academic book -mostly physics and astronomy- and he would wait for his loving dad to come back from a tiring day at work, no matter how long it took. Multiple ceiling-high bookshelves were placed against the walls, filled with thick, big and bulky books that ranged from science, maths, history and so on. The bookshelves were mostly stacked with academically acclaimed books but with the exception of a few sci-fi novels and a few joke books from either his dad or the kind, Queen Toriel._

_Sans has three boxes in his room, one for his toys, one for all the very hard puzzles his dad made for him and filled with items for arts and crafts if he was extra bored. A custom made solar system light hangs from the ceiling with various other decorations his father made for and with him. Some were the gifts from dad’s helpers, from the king and queen and some were from the prince himself where he held a special place in his heart. He was a bit saddened by the fact that Prince Asriel wasn’t allowed to visit him so often. He had only come by twice but Sans was grateful that he had so much stuff to let his creativity and intelligence flow since he was told that many other monster children didn’t have as many toys and books as he did and he has such a loving and caring dad._

_'But it was still rather lonely'. He remembered writing those exact words in wing dings in his personal journal that his dad had bought him. The young skeleton had never been outside the lab, he was barely outside his own room since he was sick as his dad told him but he didn't quite understand what he meant. Afterall, he felt ok though he couldn't ignore the fact that his soul is attached to an IV tube with strange liquid flowing in it, the strange liquid is coming from a packet on a stand a little taller than him._

_There was one thing that he truly didn't understand….Why did his soul feel_ _very_ _different from all the other monsters around him? Even his own dad. If a monster child was born from the love of two monsters, then where's mom? He tried asking his dad but he simply brushed it off._

_Alone in his room while reading a big book of astronomy in his hands that he barely understood as he solved various puzzles and quizzes with his magic, he wondered, a strange feeling came to him but he couldn't quite comprehend._

_Was this…...dread?_

_….._

_Only kind Queen Tori was visiting today, she spent a good half an hour telling punny puns to Sans- mostly one about skeletons and snails as she fed him a slice of her signature butterscotch cinnamon pie until she excused herself to go and meet up with his dad._

_Simply out of curiosity, he followed silently as he could in his plain robes, the very large blue hoodie wrapped around his small body._

_The door of the main lab was slightly ajar, he peeked through and saw his dad, Tori and his dad’s helpers._

_“_ **_Is this about Sans?_ ** _”, he spoke as magical hands were summoned to sign in his stead while he was typing a few codes onto the keyboard._

_“Indeed..Dr. Gaster-”_

_“ISN’T HE SUCH AN ADORABLE GENIUS?! I’M SO PROUD OF MY LITTLE SANSY! MY, HE IS EVEN SMARTER THAN ME WHEN I WAS A BABYBONES. ONLY FOUR AND HE COULD MEMORISE ALL OF THE HUMAN CONSTELLATIONS AND EXPLAIN TO ME WHAT IS THE PYTHAGORAS THEOREM”_

_A small smile made its way on little Sans flushed blue face._

_“There he goes again…”, Nightmore sighed, causing the others to snicker. Hetra gave a shoulder pat to Dr. Gaster who was smiling really wide with a faint purple blush. “Don’t worry, it’s normal. I was like that when Alphys was born”_

_“Indeed, Asgore and I were overjoyed when our dear Asriel finally came into this world!”, Toriel smiled but it was quickly replaced with a worried frown. “Dr. Gaster, though Sans is a very sweet and polite child, I must ask why is he still so cautious of me?”_

_Harshil gave the queen a mug filled with hot chocolate while Toriel kindly thanked him. “He’s like that with everyone sadly. Sans has always been a little bit of a shy bookworm but he became more cautious and reclusive ever since he accidentally lost control of his magic”_

_“_ **_Yes..I tried to tell him that it was an accident. After all, the only injury I received was a minor crack on the skull. I have been inflicted more severe injuries during the war but my little boy was still scared from the event though it’s understandable as to why he is so cautious of everyone since he could see the LOVE of every single monster and human alive. My older brother reacted in a similar state as well when we were younger_ ** _”_ ****

_She took a sip of the hot chocolate, feeling a calming warmth with the sweetness of the drink, clearly made with care. “I know...It breaks my soul to see such a fearful young child. He knows so much yet so little about this world so my friend I must ask you when are you going to let him explore the underground? It may be small but it must be better than here. No child deserves to grow up in such a dull environment and it will do him good if he socializes with the other children. Maybe he will finally come out of his shell?”_

_“_ **_Tori...We’ve been over this. His soul and physical structure is still very fragile, even a minor scratch could gravely affect his heart. He still has difficulties understanding and perceiving emotions and the underground still haven’t fully accepted him yet. Did you not recall the fearful riots when you announced his birth?_ ** _”_

_“....Sans doesn’t know...You haven’t told him yet?”_

_Little Sans felt something kinda ached in his soul. Told him what?_

_“_ **_He is a genius, Tori. And the smart ones always question but do tell me how in Asgore’s name am I supposed to tell a child that h-he…_ ** _”, he trailed off. Toriel wrapped him in a comforting embrace._

_“_ **_That he is not truly a monster.._ ** _”_

_He knew it._

_Caught off guard, Sans accidentally pushed the door open, falling to the ground with a loud ‘thud’ in the process. He looked up from the ground to see his dad’s distressed face as he felt something wet flowing out of his eye sockets._

_HP: 2 / 5_

_“_ **_Sans?_ ** _”, Gaster called out, walking towards him._

_oh no.._

_Both of his white eye lights were replaced with an immense glow of light blue and yellow, bursting with power as he heard the world ‘click’. Everything but him darken in mere seconds, showing his magic fully taking effect as time was stopped, frozen by his DETERMINATION. Everyone in the room was still as a statue and Sans pitied mug filled with chocolate, falling out of Mr. Harshil’s hand, only a few centimetres from shattering on the ground, spilling all it’s sweetness that reminded him of a chocolate pun that dad once told him- “_ **_Opened a mars bar once. Discovered martians loved gin_ ** _”. Then he asked what gin was but Miss Flo who happened to be nearby whacked his father before he could explain. He thought about fixing the mug situation but Sans only had less than an hour before his powers finally drained him._

_The tiny skeleton ran as fast as his little legs would take him until he reached the door of his dad’s personal lab. With his bones rattling from fear, he entered the only room where he hasn’t set foot yet and his eye lights immediately caught the sight of an empty large tube placed in the middle of the room, his soul glowing with recognition._

_Nearly tripping from the overly-sized hoodie, he kept looking around the room, not quite knowing what he was searching for until he laid his eyes on a journal with ‘_ **_Gaster_ ** _’ embedded on the cover in wing dings. Filled with a dangerous mix of curiosity and DETERMINATION, the journal was brought to his hands by telekinesis and those same hands that were trembling opened it._

_Flipping through most of the pages though, he accidentally read a few pages about a shadow monster called ‘River’ and it appeared to be that his dad really liked her. Sans made sure to remember this particular monster, just in case if he ever meets her._

_Maybe she could be his mom?_

_The light blue glow of his eye light faltered for a few seconds, a heavy wave of fatigue hit him, signaling that his time was near the end. Instantly alarmed, he searched for the page he was looking for and when he did find it, the skeleton noticed that the pages had spots of a deeper shade covering it that suddenly appeared when he was reading. And he recalled the fact that he was crying the whole time._

_In detail, Dr. Gaster had written from the moment he had met the king to the creation of the artificial soul to Sans’s unexpected birth but what really terrified him down to the bone was the gruesome future experiments that were originally planned for a...thing like him._

_The scared little skeleton started taking uneven short breaths as the tears fell more steadily, his fragile little body still shaking violently._

_‘was dad gonna hurt him?’, he thought._

_His eye lights stopped glowing as the world surrounding him returned to their natural colours._

_Footsteps echoed throughout the lab._

_The door was slammed open._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apparently gin an alcoholic drink made from juniper berries and Juniperus Communis is the scientific name :l


	7. Warmth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gaster deserves Best Dad Award.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you want to continue reading, then please, enjoy! :) But if you want to know why have I vanish for all this time, then please, stay because I feel like you guys deserve an explanation.
> 
> First of all, I have to apologize and thank you for all the kudos and kind comments. It truly brought joy to my world. These past few months had been very.... horrible to me. I tried to tell my family about my need of therapy, yet the only thing I got was yelling and shouting. And so I continued to drown in a sea of self-hatred until it got to the point that I hated everything I made, including this fanfic. I thought that my writing was absolutely horrible and that's why I couldn't bear to continue to write anything. But I'm ok now for the most part. I love writing and this story. So to anyone who has read this, please know that you are worth it and you are talented in what you love. Please don't give in to the self-hatred like I did :') And have a good day! :D 
> 
> P.S: Sorry if it's a little short, I wanna focus on the rest at the next chapter.

_Deep down Gaster knew, he had to tell him someday. The harsh truth of his son's existence but never this early. Dear heavens, he's only four but fate was never one to have mercy. Sans, like most children, was curious, especially since he had spent all his life in a lab for the time being. He didn't mean to slam the door open and scare the tiny skeleton, he was so worried and afraid that his son might hurt himself._

_A child should be happy, spending their days playing with no care in the world. Not covering in fear while begging his father to not hurt him. The very idea of it was so very wrong, yet his little son that he loved so much was scared of him. Sans was curled under the table and each time he would get closer, his son would inch himself further away from him while screaming in fear and simultaneously saying sorry. The others tried to help to, Toriel really tried her best but that only brought more fear into the child's eyes._

_He could see it, Sans was only focusing on their LOVE and not their love for him. His son was a genius, he could only imagine what kinds of things Sans thought they could do to him. So he kindly asked his friends to leave, they all listened but Toriel stayed a little longer before she too left after a stern warning from Gaster._

_"_ **_Sans_ ** _" But his voice only made his son yell sorry more louder, using his uppercase font that he taught Sans wasn't capable of. He sat down to get a better sight of him and sighed almost in defeat. Alas, the Great Dr. W.D Gaster has tried telling him that he never meant to do anything that he wrote in his book, tried to convince him that he was loved and he would never injure him. Any further movement would only bring forth more distressed to his son and could harm his already fragile soul._

_An idea formed in his mind. Hopefully this will prove to his son of his true love._

_"_ **_You are my sans-shine_ ** _,_

**_My little sans-shine_ ** _," he began to sing, earning his son's attention._

_"_ **_You make me happy when skies are grey_ ** _,_

**_You have to know dear how much I love you_ ** _,_

**_Please don't take my sans-shine away_ ** _"_

_His eyes locked with his son who has already stopped crying, music has always brought joy to his little Sans. "_ **_Now will you let me explain?_ ** _"_

_The small skeleton nodded reluctantly but still refused to move from his safe place. So he told him the tale of monsters and humans, how humans have betrayed monsterkind when a surprise attack at the hometown of skeletons had wiped out their kind, how his noble family, the Aster family was able to escape in the last hour to warn the newly crowned King Asgore and his family. The humans had cut them no slack and continued to slay each and every monster around. He told Sans how he had lost each of his family to the humans and how seven of the most powerful human magicians tried to help their kind but the only thing that they could do was seal them underground with a chance to escape. Humanity had lost their magic due to the horrible actions towards monsterkind. Gaster explained to him the meeting he had with the king and his purpose. Sans was never meant to be a child since the original plan was to gather all monsterkind once he was 'born' to make a wish--to escape the underground. Instead, he made a wish to have a family so his soul reacted and made him into a baby to grant him a son. He pleaded to him to believe that he had no intentions of doing all the horrible things he had written to him. "_ **_You are my precious son, and there was never a day where I did not love you_ ** _", he had told him with tears trailing down his cheekbone. And it was Gaster’s turn to beg for forgiveness. Sans understood because he could see the sincerity on his face, walking towards his father who was crying on the ground. He hugged his head, whispering. "_ **_I love you too, daddy_ ** _". Gaster smiled, wrapping his arms around his small body in relief._

* * *

_“_ **_And so Fluffy Bunny lived happily ever after with his friends and family in their beautiful meadow. The End_ ** _”, Gaster closed the book and put it back at the bookshelves before burying himself under the blanket with his precious son beside him. It has been a very eventful day. The other had given Sans their own share of hugs and apologies, constantly reminding the young skeleton that he was in fact loved. Gaster was thankful that Sans’s soul had received no damage during his hit, so very thankful._

_“dad?”_

_“_ **_Yes, my child?_ ** _”_

_Sans moved himself further into his father’s embrace, both of their eyelight were locked together. “why do they hate me?”, he asked so innocently._

_Gaster felt his soul ache, how could he explain such a thing to a child who barely knows anything about the real world - about how cruel and unforgiving the real world is.Taking his father’s silence as permission, Sans continued talking. “d-did I do something wrong to make them hate me?”_

_He shook his head with a smile on his face. “_ **_Sans, you did nothing wrong. Monsterkind does not hate you, my precious sans-shine. They’re just afraid, unsure of what to think. It is normal to be afraid of something different_ ** _”_

_“soooo, that means that i’ll only have to make them not afraid of me, right? i just have to show them kindness and they’ll have to love me just like you do, right daddy?”, Sans had said with a hopeful smile on his face, eye lights slightly in the shape of stars. A very rare sight for Gaster himself. He snuggled his son’s head, earning a few giggles. “_ **_Of course, my child. They’ll see how much of a blessing you are to this world_ ** _”_

_“then when can i explore the underground? and i want to see azzy more often too!”_

_“_ **_I promise that daddy will find a way to make your body stronger, my boy. As for Prince Asriel, his magical aura is still unstable. Being a boss monster child, he could accidentally hurt you, Sans. Give him sometime and he’ll grow. For the time being, would you like to meet someone new?_ ** _”_

_“meet someone new?”_

_“_ **_Yes, your mother if you would like to call her that_ ** _”_

_And so, Dr. Gaster had told him how the shadow monster that he had read about called River who had a hand in his creation. Her kind was part of the Noble Pentagram - a group made of the five most powerful species of monsterkind including skeletons. Since his soul had granted his wish for a family, it was almost impossible to create a sentient being without the factor of love. River, just like him, was born from a long line of noble families. She was born in the River person family who are the sacred guardians of rivers and the famous Echo Flowers. They grew up together back on the surface and just like him, her kind was completely wiped away, leaving her as the only lone survivor. Gaster admitted that they were madly in love but due to family traditions, they were not allowed to be together. She was the only one who was truly there for him all this time. She gave some of her magic to help with Sans’s creation and their love was what made him able to have feelings though not as perfect as everyone else who had been born naturally, it was still a success._

_When Sans asked why didn’t she come to visit him, he replied saying “_ **_She felt like she was not worthy of your presence. Let alone to be called your mother_ ** _”. Sans held onto those words, it reminded him of himself - on how he sometimes felt like he wasn’t worthy of being The Great Dr. Gaster’s son. His father told him that he would bring her here tomorrow to meet him and Sans agreed happily._

_An hour and a half had passed since their conversation, his father was asleep though little Sans was still awake. Sleeping was an uncomfortable experience for him since all of his slumbers were usually plagued by horrible nightmares of red and gold but still, he would try to get some rest. Although for tonight, he had something to think about. He has a mother and that fact alone is one of the greatest news that he had ever heard in his four years of living._

_For the first time since forever, he couldn’t wait for tomorrow because knowing that he was going to meet his mother filled him with determination._

* * *

“Wait, HOLD UP! THE RIVER PERSON IS YOUR MOM??!! AND SHE ACTUALLY HAS A NAME AND A GENDER??!!” Undyne’s loud voice boomed in the unrelenting nothingness. 

“THE GREAT PAPYRUS ACTUALLY HAS A MOTHER?? WOWIE, THAT’S SO INCREDIBLY COOL!”

“ **Well, yes and no** ”

“WHAT??!!”, Undyne and Papyrus yelled simultaneously, forcing everyone to cover their ears. 

Sans groaned, burying himself in his hoodie again. This was going to be a looong day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Should change the name of this fanfic cause' Memorytale isn't exactly original, you know? Any suggestions? Oh and I'll probably change that cringey drawing I made on chapter 1, my art style has improved since then :'D Thanks for reading!


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